With a persistent need for more pass-rushing depth on their defensive line, the Chicago Bears find themselves in familiar territory once more in 2024. According to ESPN’s Bill Barnwell, a “logical” move for them would be to sign former Miami Dolphins starter Emmanuel Ogbah to a very affordable contract for the upcoming campaign.
During his eight-year NFL career, Ogbah has recorded 42.5 sacks and 268 total tackles. In 2019, he won a Super Bowl championship with the Kansas City Chiefs. Additionally, he had consecutive nine-sack seasons with the Dolphins in 2020 and 2021, which led to Miami offering him a four-year, $65 million contract extension with a $32 million guarantee.
But Ogbah, 30, has lost some of his star power since then. In nine games in 2022, he only had one sack before sustaining a triceps injury that ended his season. Even though he recovered to record 5.5 sacks in 2023, the Dolphins decided to terminate him this offseason in order to save approximately $13.6 million against the salary cap.
Nonetheless, Ogbah might be useful to a Bears defense that is searching more for a rotational addition than an every-down defensive end and already boasts a star in Montez Sweat.
Ogbah is arguably best suited for a situational role at this stage in his career, so those numbers won’t project to All-Pro productivity over a full workload, but the Bears need people in their edge rotation, according to Barnwell’s May 14 post. “GM Ryan Poles would be better off getting 300 snaps of Ogbah’s consistent pass-rushing play for about $2 million.”
Which Would the Bears Choose: Signing Emmanuel Ogbah or Bringing Yannick Ngakoue Back?
It’s not only Barnwell who believes the Bears should sign Ogbah. In a recent piece for Windy City Gridiron, former Bears scout Greg Gabriel raised the notion as well. He emphasized the necessity for the Bears to recruit another experienced defensive end to remedy their “glaring weakness” opposite Sweat.
“As a 30-year-old, I wouldn’t completely rule out Ogbah, even though what happened in Miami may not be what the Bears are looking for,” Gabriel wrote.
Despite this, Gabriel continues to believe that the Bears may consider bringing Yannick Ngakoue back in 2024. With Chicago in 2023, Ngakoue finished with fewer than eight sacks for the first time in his career. His season was cut short in December due to an ankle break, but once Sweat came, he appeared to be improving.
Ngakoue recorded two sacks, two tackles for loss, nine quarterback hurries, and four defensive stops for the Bears in five games against Sweat. Before really considering Ngakoue for a deal, the team would need to be confident in his recuperation, but his experience with Matt Eberflus’ defense may offer him an advantage over other veterans.
Bears Might Add an Edge Rusher During Training Camp
The Bears might move quickly to add another edge rusher to their group of players. They will rehearse nine times in the coming weeks, culminating in their three-day required minicamp on June 4–6, in preparation for the commencement of OTAs on May 20. It could be useful for Ogbah or any other new recruit to have that time to become used to the system.
However, before making snap decisions on what they’ll need for the 2024 campaign, the Bears are probably more interested in finding out what their current roster is capable of.
The Bears have faith in Sweat and his abilities, but they also had good things to say about veteran DeMarcus Walker as he prepares to play defense for the second time. In 2023, he set a career high with 47 pressure and nine tackles for loss. He was a major contributor to the Bears’ run defense, which led the league. September marks his thirty-first birthday, but a full season with Sweat might improve his output.
Austin Booker, a fifth-round selection by the Bears, is another intriguing rookie. The Bears were so impressed with him after he burst out with a 12-sack season for Kansas in 2023 that they traded a 2025 fourth to get back into the fifth round. However, he is still a raw project player and needs to improve his skill set before the team can rely on him to make an impact.
Although Chicago signed Jake Martin as a free agent to add depth, they may believe that bringing in a veteran and slow-feeding Booker as a rookie is the best course of action for their growth. The Bears may choose to stick with their current roster and forego making any more additions if Walker, Booker, and Martin demonstrate potential in OTAs.
